Part 2 to Safe and Sound! I know this is late but anywho enjoy!~🌸

You roused the next morning to the sun flooding the room through the slits of the blinds. You sleepily reached out for Hotch but realized he was no longer there.

Something in the irrational, paranoid side of your brain flooded you with a sickening thought: what if someone took Hotch?

You were still half asleep, swinging your legs over the side of the bed and grabbing your crutches clumsily.

"Hotch!" You called, not realizing how it must've sounded, "Hotch!"

As you hobbled out frantically into the hallway, you were met by an equally frantic Hotch.

"What, what? Are you okay? Did you hurt your leg-"

You sighed loudly reaching up to rub at your temple, "No, no I'm fine. I'm so sorry, I don't know what's up with me, I just...I woke up and you were there, and my brain thought maybe...I don't know what it thought."

"Hey, don't apologize," he said, reaching up to rub your shoulders gently, "Your mind is in a fragile state right now, it's completely understandable. You'll get better, it just takes time."

You nodded slowly, smelling something burning, "Do you smell that?"

"Shoot," his face dropped, "Breakfast."

He jogged to the kitchen and you hopped along after, laughing. When you made it to the kitchen he was moving a smoking frying pan off the burner and swatting at it with a towel.

"Oh my gosh," you snorted at his attempts to fan out the smoke.

He looked at you with a smile full of mirth, "I tried to make pancakes."

You smiled widely as he moved to open the kitchen window, "Mmm, looks like you cooked them just how I like them."

He tossed you a look over his shoulder, rolling his eyes. Once the smokiness cleared you realized what he was wearing. You recognized the white tee shirt from when he came in to comfort you the night before, but you hadn't noticed that his bottom half was covered in nothing but a pair of blue boxers.

You tried not to make your ogling noticeable, coughing loudly to distract from it, "Want to just grab some food from the diner down the street?"

With his hands on his hips, his face drenched in sweat from the almost-fire, he let out a long sigh, "Yeah, that would probably be best. Just let me go shower first real quick, will you be okay in here by yourself?"

You hated that he had to ask that. You felt like a five-year-old.

"Unless that's an invitation to shower with you, I don't see how I have a choice," you giggled nervously, unable to believe those words came out of your mouth.

His cheeks flushed pink, flustered, "Oh, well, I mean, if you-"

"I was teasing, I'll be okay," you reassured him, though the look in your eyes gave away your anxiety.

"I'll tell you what, I'll shower in the master bathroom and you can just relax in the bedroom and watch TV while you wait," he offered, "That way you'll still be close."

He wanted to add, "without me desperately wanting to kiss you under the water" to the end of that statement but thought better of it.

"Deal," you smiled warmly.

He gave you an affectionate pat on the back with a smile matching yours before leading the way down the hall, "C'mon, Hoppy."

"Rude," you pouted as you hopped on your crutches back to the bedroom.

He made sure your leg was elevated and you were situated on the bed, showing you all the tv controls, before heading into the bathroom. You would never admit it, but you sneaked a peek at his butt in those boxers as he walked away.

When he came back out in nothing but a towel wrapped low around his waist, you nearly fainted.

"Sorry," he blushed, "I completely forgot to grab clothes."

Think about literally anything else besides what's under that towel, literally anything else! You begged your mind.

He turned around and caught your gaze with a growing smirk, "Enjoying the view?"

Pardon me, what? He did not just say that.

You wanted to tease him back but held back. You were scared your true feelings might accidentally surface. Even though you had suspicions that he felt the same, you couldn't risk even the slight lead possibility of rejection.

"I would be enjoying it much better if it were clothed and sitting across from me at the diner, I'm starved," you groaned.

He laughed lightly, "I promise I'll dress quickly."

He wanted nothing more than to saunter over and kiss you on the head before returning to the bathroom. He imagines that scene playing out in his head, the domesticity of it making his heart race.

He had been planning on confessing to you that morning over homemade pancakes and mediocre coffee. Now that that was out of the question, he was scrambling to come up with a new plan. The diner didn't seem fitting for that conversation, so he thought about it and eventually came up with something else.

"How do you feel about having a movie night tonight?" He asked as he exited the bathroom, fully clothed, drying his hair with a towel, "I promise I can make popcorn better than pancakes."

You giggled. Movie night sounded way too cozy to refuse. Besides, what else was there to do?

"Sounds perfect," you smiled.

You ate a delicious breakfast at the diner and Hotch made sure you took all your required medications as soon as you returned. He then said you should rest since you had been up on your foot a lot, convincing you to lay down by offering to play board games with you in bed.

"This is what I and Jack do when one of us is sick," he said, laying out the Game of Life as best he could on the cushioned surface.

"You're an awesome dad," you smiled, picking out your plastic car for the game, "I don't know if you get told that enough. Our job is hard on its own, but doing it as a single parent? I can't even imagine that, and you do it so well."

He looked at you so intensely that you almost thought you offended him. Until you realized his gaze was full of affection.

In a moment, his lips were on yours, scattering pieces of the game across the sheets. His original plan was forgotten. This was happening now.

It took you several seconds to realize Hotch was kissing you. Hotch. Was. Kissing. You. You immediately gave in to his lips, sighing contentedly against them. You moved eagerly against each other, desperately trying to convey the feelings you'd both been harboring for months without using words.

When finally pulled back, just by a few inches, his rosy lips were puffy and his pupils blown wide. He breathed heavily, the warmth of it spreading across your lips and cheeks. You both sported wide, dazed smiles.

"Finally," you sighed, reaching up to rake some hair out of his eyes.

His gaze on you was so full of emotion. He knew all the planning in the world couldn't have lead to a more perfect moment.

"I've been trying to find the perfect way to tell you," Hotch admitted sheepishly, "I can't believe it's taken me months to do it."

You smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

You pulled him back in for a much more slow but just as dizzying kiss. You started giggling, causing the two of you to break apart once more.

Hotch just smiled, "What?"

You continued giggling, "So what do we say as adults? Because I feel like 'I like you' is too middle school but 'I have feelings for you' just sounds weird. Do adults just start dating and assume that that means they are interested in one another? Or-"

Hotch cut you off with a quick peck, laughing quietly, "I think we can say whatever we want. What about 'all of the above'?"

You grinned, "So you like me, have feelings for me, and want to date me?"

His grin matched yours as his thumb reached up to brush across your bottom lip, "If you'll have me."

"Like I'm going to say no to that," you rolled your eyes, pulling him in for another kiss by the collar of his shirt.

After entertaining yourselves for a few hours, you decided to still have that movie night Hotch was planning. Except now it was better than he could've planned on his own.

You were in one of his tee shirts, the material dropping to your mid-thighs. He was in a tee-shirt and boxers once again. Once he successfully popped the popcorn, he made his way to the couch where you sat.

He placed the bowl down on the coffee table and sat beside you, carefully pulling you into his lap so that you were sitting sideways across his thighs, your hurt leg having the rest of the couch to stretch out on. You leaned your head into the crook of his neck, inhaling the smell of his sandalwood body wash. You felt cozier than you ever had in your life.

"What movie do you want to watch?" He asked, pecking you on the head affectionately.

"While you were in the shower earlier, I recorded Mall Cop," you grinned goofily.

He groaned and threw his head back, "Woman, where have you been all my life?"

You spent the rest of the night, and every night after for the week, just like that: content, cozy, and eager to explore everything in this new world together.